Quiz: The surprising former names of famous places

Follow the author of this article

A deal aimed at ending a 28-year row between Greece and the Republic of Macedonia could see the name of the latter changed to the Republic of North Macedonia.

The two countries have been at loggerheads ever since Macedonia declared independence in 1991, with many in Greece saying the moniker suggests a claim on the Greek province of the same name. There were violent protests at the weekend by those who reject the deal, which would see Greece end opposition to Macedonia joining Nato and the European Union.

Macedonia would certainly not be the first place to adopt a new name.

Among last summer's World Cup venues was Volgograd. The Russian city was previously called Stalingrad, and was the site of the largest and bloodiest battle in the history of warfare, but the name was ditched in 1961 as part of Khrushchev's policy of de-Stalinization.

Kaliningrad, another World Cup host city, was previously called Königsberg, while the Polish port of Gdansk was once Danzig.